Any of you old fooks having to deal with sciatica? My first ride of the the past season gave me what I thought was monkey but. Turns out I am now a sciatica sufferer. I've been seeing my usual osteotherapist and have added it to the list of complaints. Some relief has been had but I am wondering what works for other riders to avoid this. Things to work on,( bike or rider), before next spring?

I've had back trouble pretty much all my adult life - best treatment has always been regular visits to the gym and plenty of stretching etc. It may just be a personal thing but I've never found osteo or any kind of massage (except by the missus...) any use at all. At 51 I still visit the gym 2 or 3 times a week.

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Willh wrote:Any of you old fooks having to deal with sciatica? My first ride of the the past season gave me what I thought was monkey but. Turns out I am now a sciatica sufferer. I've been seeing my usual osteotherapist and have added it to the list of complaints. Some relief has been had but I am wondering what works for other riders to avoid this. Things to work on,( bike or rider), before next spring?

I assume the osteotherapist is the Canadian equivalent of a chiropractor here in the US? IMHO as a licensed physical therapist (PT), I'd seek out a well-reviewed one near your home and try what they suggest. Heaps of objective evidence to show physical therapy helps to relieve and maintain relief of sciatic and low back pain symptoms over long periods of time. You may be surprised to hear that sciatica generally doesn't afflict older individuals as much as the younger crowd, so don't take it as a indicator of your age. Certainly, you should be communicating with your physician to confirm you aren't suffering from a more serious injury contributing to "sciatica" that PT may not be able to help...

Obviously I nor anybody else can give you effective self-treatment ideas over the internet without an in-person evaluation so, also IMHO, don't fook around with random advice. Don't waste time, go get checked out, start a specific treatment plan, and get back to your normal self!

For environmental solutions, some relief may come from looking into a softer/gel saddle, reassess your posture/ergonomic setup (bars, foot peg placement/foot position on pegs, seating position on the saddle relative to tank), take breaks on long rides, change seat positions every few minutes of riding... For many folks I've worked with, improving the external factors helps incrementally towards overall relief but little tweaks can make a big difference.

Yoga was brilliant for mine. As long as you don't push too hard and aggravate the back problem that is causing it in the first place.

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This issue is just the latest to show its head and I've had X-rays, nerve conductivity, etc for a few problems, arthrosis and carpel tunnel syndrome of late. X-rays confirmed the Neuros suspected neck issues and Osteotherapist returned range of neck motion and corrected seveveral back and thorax issues,( I feel taller too ).Tendinitis is being dealt with and has impact on reducing the carpal tunnel symptoms. Anti inflammatory as required,(often).

The Osteotherapist says that my work requires me to be in great shape to do. Apparently the decades of doing this kind of work hasn't kept me in great shape. I do the prescribed PT for the individual afflictions as long as they bother me but that is no longer sufficient. Go to the gym he says ...

I'll get on that in the new year, maybe try yoga too.

That brings me to the bike. I've been on the lookout for a heavier rear spring to deal with my rear suspension woes. I intend to have one before next riding season. Comfort gel seat has been on the bike for years. I have a few seasons with lowered and forward pegs for my bad knees. I've run a high wide bar for years. Only difference to riding position last season was the Nichols triple clamp that came with a high bar clamp that all in all might have raised bar position a little over an inch. This might be part of the issue.

Driving any time over half an hour puts me in pain. Increased lumber support helps. Osteo sayed its do to position of back and but. Told me what should relieve it and I will give it a try next time I get a chance. After thinking about it, this may be what's happening on the bike as well. If it is, it would seam that increased core strength could help fix my issue on the bike.

Having higher bars and more upright position will put greater axial compression upon your spine. Coupling that with alignment issues and you may be contributing to some factors limiting your riding tolerance

I have an old mate that was crippled by this problem for years, he couldn't even walk to the mailbox! Doctors told him to take all their drugs until his guts were fooked, then told him to go to the gym, go swimming, meditate etc etc. His life was miserable once he could not ride his bikes anymore. To cut a long story short, he was given some medical cannabis to try and he started to get better, he now self medicates with CBD oil and is back riding and living life; something all his mates thought would never happen.It may not be for everyone but his story is amazing considering how crippled he was and how much he suffered for so many years.He is now moving around like a 20 year old and putting all his mates to shame.Good luck to you.

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abc wrote:I have an old mate that was crippled by this problem for years, he couldn't even walk to the mailbox! Doctors told him to take all their drugs until his guts were fooked, then told him to go to the gym, go swimming, meditate etc etc. His life was miserable once he could not ride his bikes anymore. To cut a long story short, he was given some medical cannabis to try and he started to get better, he now self medicates with CBD oil and is back riding and living life; something all his mates thought would never happen.It may not be for everyone but his story is amazing considering how crippled he was and how much he suffered for so many years.He is now moving around like a 20 year old and putting all his mates to shame.Good luck to you.

Thanks abc,

I won't even need a script for it after July 1st 2018

I'm still going to try the PT, yoga, and lowering the bars first and leave the electric lettuce as last resort.

I had it when i was younger.It generally does only effect the young and the fit blokes. Im a brickies labourer so im pretty fit. Mine got to the stage when i couldnt even bear the pressure on my legs. In the end i had to have a disc removed but since then and im talking 15 years ago ive been fine and im still labouring. Sciatica is caused by the damaged disc crushing the sciatic nerve. It was described to me like a doughnut that had burst and all the jam had ran out which caused it to collapse around the sciatic nerve.

step1 wrote:I had it when i was younger.It generally does only effect the young and the fit blokes. Im a brickies labourer so im pretty fit. Mine got to the stage when i couldnt even bear the pressure on my legs. In the end i had to have a disc removed but since then and im talking 15 years ago ive been fine and im still labouring. Sciatica is caused by the damaged disc crushing the sciatic nerve. It was described to me like a doughnut that had burst and all the jam had ran out which caused it to collapse around the sciatic nerve.

So they fused two vertebrae? I'd like to avoid that as long as possible, but guess there may come a time...

No mate they didnt fuse it they just took the damaged disc out.The one id squashed. The disc is the soft doughnut thing that sits between the vertebrae. When there knackered they just squash your nerves and thats what causes the intense pain.Its a delicate operation and a bit risky but at the time i was that bad i couldnt even stand so it was an easy decision for me. But that was many years ago and im now 54 and still carrying bricks, mixing cement and lugging roof tiles up ladders so it must have worked ok for me lol. Oh and ive been riding anything from race reps to hardtail chops only thing i cant do is ride feet forwards. Even put rearsets on my Rocket 111

step1 wrote:I had it when i was younger.It generally does only effect the young and the fit blokes. Im a brickies labourer so im pretty fit. Mine got to the stage when i couldnt even bear the pressure on my legs. In the end i had to have a disc removed but since then and im talking 15 years ago ive been fine and im still labouring. Sciatica is caused by the damaged disc crushing the sciatic nerve. It was described to me like a doughnut that had burst and all the jam had ran out which caused it to collapse around the sciatic nerve.

So they fused two vertebrae? I'd like to avoid that as long as possible, but guess there may come a time...

You’re not at that point and have no indication that this type procedure will help you...don’t go jumping on board with a knife-happy neurosurgeon just yet. Step1 reported those severe symptoms that would benefit from such a procedure and it sounds like it happened just in time to prevent permanent nerve damage.

Interestingly, vertebra without or without much disc between them can actually fuse themselves over time...the concern with fused vertebra is much like your motorcycle chain. Tight links that don’t move put undue stress on adjacent links and can cause damage over time above and below the original site or problems.